While much of the focus in today’s primaries will be on the governor’s race, (and rightfully so) many around the state will be keeping a close eye on another contest – the Democratic primary in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
U.S. Rep. Karen Handel avoided a primary contest, but a strong field of Democrats have lined up to challenge her, hoping they can do what Jon Ossoff famously could not in 2016’s most expensive congressional race in U.S. history. With her incumbency advantage Handel should feel more secure than she did in the initial election to replace Tom Price as he left on his ill-fated trip to Washington as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Dems though have circled the district as a vulnerable one, particularly should a ‘blue wave’ wash over the November general elections as many speculate.
Four Democrats are competing in the race – Kevin Abel, Steven Knight Griffin, Bobby Kaple, and Lucy McBath. Of those four Abel and Kaple appear to be the best funded and well connected, but McBath has received a late flood of outside money from gun control groups. A runoff seems likely as it would be difficult for any of the four to achieve the 50%+1 needed to avoid it with such a crowded field.
Kaple, a former television news anchor, seems to be the frontrunner heading into today’s action. He has the most money on hand out of the candidates – $289,000 as of May 2nd, (with over $100,000 of that being self-funded) so he has been able to make the biggest push via commercials, flyers, and of course the dreaded robo-calls. He also has the most impressive list of endorsements, including nods from Former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, and Georgia Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson.
Abel, a Sandy Springs businessman, has like Kaple loaned himself some $150,000, giving him the gas needed to push through to a potential spot in the runoff. Kaple has leaned on his business connections in the race, with endorsements from such big names as Ted Blum, the Managing Shareholder of Greenberg Traurig, and Larry Gellerstedt, chairman and CEO of Cousins Properties.
McBath, a late entrant in the race, serves as the wildcard – riding a wave of outside money and taking up the banner of gun control, a very relevant and divisive issue both in Georgia and nationwide. McBath’s son Jordan Davis was shot to death six years ago in Florida in a highly publicized case, and she has since become a spokeswoman for gun control causes. While her personal fundraising has been meager, (just $68,000 on on May 2nd) she has had immense sums pumped in by her allies, including some $830,000 from Everytown for Gun Safety. Observing whether and how well that message resonates today will be of great interest to politicos on both sides of the aisle, both in Georgia and across the country as the issue stays at the forefront of public discourse following last week’s school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas.
For her part, Handel will be well funded and well prepared for her first re-election campaign as a congresswoman. With nearly $800,000 in the bank and plenty of time to fundraise as her Democratic opponents claw through a (likely) primary, she will be in good shape to fight to retain her seat against what promises to be another barrage of outside money coming in for whichever Democrat emerges as her November opponent.
More to come as we learn the results of this primary tonight.
